After Freedom
by HarlequinRaven
Summary: Being able to choose your own path isn't everything Buffy thought it would be. Especially when the Scooby gang stumble across a whole new breed of vampire and are once more thrust into war. Buffy/Twilight crossover. Post S7 & mid Eclipse.
1. Chapter One: Retirement Home for Slayers

**After Freedom**

**Summary: **Post S7 & mid Eclipse. Being able to choose your own path isn't everything Buffy thought it would be. Especially when the Scooby gang discover a whole new breed of vampire and are once more thrust into war. Buffy/Twilight crossover.**  
**

Yes, I am an idiot. I have decided to begin another story. And yes, it's a Buffy/Twilight crossover. As if I wasn't already enough of an idiot. Alas, this plot bunny just would not burrow back into its hole, and so I am left with no choice it seems, but to do this.

**Groundrules**: Buffy comes out better than Twilight in this. Sorry, but that's just the way it'll work. I will give just as much care and attention to both fandoms, but when it comes to slaying ability, Buffy comes out ahead. No offence, Edward. However, no, stakes, holy water etc will _not _work, because I'm not completely ignorant of canon, but I have another plan in that area involving Willow and a scythe.

**Other ground rules;** there will be no Buffy/Cullen pairings. In fact, I can guarantee that if Buffy even did end up with someone at the end of this (which she probably won't but just in case) it _will _either be Angel or Spike. **All pairings in this will be canon - probably. There will be no slash (as I'm not planning on getting Willow with anybody.) **The only maybe non-canon pairing in this could be Dawn/Jacob. Depending on what you guys think and whether or not I feel the story develops that way. However, **I will be trying to keep all pairings, romances and characters as much in canon and character as is possible in a crossover.** I am very open to audience participation and would love to hear suggestions as to where this should go.

* * *

It had been two months since Willow's spell, and the fall of the First Evil at the hands of Buffy and her army of Slayers. After Sunnydale collapsed in on itself, the survivors had rode the school bus all the way to Los Angeles (don't even ask how they managed to pay for gas money - suffice to say Andrew was going to need some serious therapy for the next few years at least), and met up with Angel and his team.

Buffy had to admit she had been impressed by the second front Angel had assembled at her request - being alive for as long as he had, he'd garnered a lot of favours to call in. And boy, he'd called them in alright. She was almost disappointed when she told Angel they'd defeated the First; the horde of demons and other creepies that had assembled was damn powerful looking.

They stayed at the Hyperion Hotel to recuperate for a few weeks; there were plenty of rooms to go around. Buffy had healed up within a day, and for the rest of the time, felt weird. She didn't quite know what to do with herself. Usually, if she felt that way, she'd go out on patrol or she'd be dealing with some big crisis whether it was magical or villainous or sisterly or her oft-doomed romances. She'd be preoccupied with _something_, anyway. Buffy had been a lot of things in her life, but she'd never been _bored. _She'd never sat around twiddling her thumbs.

To be honest, if this was what freedom was, Buffy wasn't sure she liked it all that much. Sure, it had been alright for the first couple of days or so, sleeping in, staying in her pyjamas all day and eating ice cream while catching up on episodes of _90210_... but then it all just got-

"Very same-y," Buffy said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I do _like _that there aren't any Big Bads or... even Small Bads, after us, but..."

"But what, Buffy?" Dawn said, looking slightly annoyed. "Just chill out for once in your life." She spread her arms up into the air. "Look around. We are in a massive hotel, with free cable and all the chocolate and iced tea a girl could ever want."

Buffy smiled. "I know... you're right. I _am _going to enjoy this." The last part she said to herself, and refocused on the television.

But still she felt restless inside.

The next few days were even harder. She'd even snuck out the window at night to go on patrol - it was like living at home with her Mom again. She felt dirty - it was like quitting smoking or something and she was falling off the bandwagon, badly. Buffy had never thought that Slaying might turn out to be addictive. Before, it had always just been her destiny, a chore to be done. But now that she didn't have to... Buffy was beginning to realise that maybe she wanted to.

Maybe she just didn't know another way to be.

And it was frustrating. With all the non-action she was getting, the Hyperion Hotel was starting to feel more like the Retirement Home for Slayers.

The relief for her came with Giles. He'd headed back to England a week or so before to see what was left of the Watchers' Council. They had been right; no survivors. He'd scoured the local hospitals looking for Watchers, but there was no one. He'd only been able to perform a quick lookabout before, just after the explosion, he hadn't had the time to do a deep search of the building. Getting the information about the First had been of the essence, but looking harder, Giles had come back with a much larger pile of books and papers that had not been destroyed in the blast.

He was currently buried headfirst in said pile of books, and he had a look of supremely deep concentration on his face, the kind that Buffy associated with evil afoot. She planted herself on the arm of the couch, and poked him gently in the shoulder. At the contact, Giles jumped with a start, and made a strange, strangled yelping noise. Buffy grinned.

"Hi."

"Buffy," Giles said, with a look on his face somewhere between relief and weariness.

"So, d'you find anything in this pile of trash?" Buffy said, sniffing at a charred piece of parchment that smelled of coal and mould.

"This _pile of trash_ as you so eloquently describe it, Buffy, represents what is left of thousands of years of research by people who dedicated their entire lives to finding and putting to paper this information so it could be passed down through the centuries to ungrateful waifs like you," Giles said, raising his eyebrow as the corner of his mouth twitched with amusement.

"Okay... well then as an ungrateful waif, I'm asking you if you found anything," Buffy said, smiling at her mentor.

"As it happens, yes," Giles said, taking off his glasses and rubbing the lenses absent-mindedly on the corner of his shirt. Buffy waited patiently for him to finish and place them back on before he spoke.

"There's something interesting here," Giles said, squinting at a small, ancient looking book. Buffy waited for a little longer before she spoke, "Giles, I'm not going to mind read from you what this interesting thing is, so would you mind...?"

"Oh, yes," Giles said. "Well, it makes reference to a species of demon that I've never heard of before... which I assure you, is quite unusual."

Buffy smirked, "Oh, I believe you."

"At first I believed it was merely a name particular to this volume - a nickname, if you will - for a species more commonly known by a different name, which for a tome of this age would not be unusual, from the binding and the print I would say this dates to at least before-"

"Giles, getting a little off-track here," Buffy interjected.

"Well, what I'm saying is I thought this not an unusual occurrence... until I started to come across the same name in a few of the other texts I found."

"Maybe these dudes all got together to write their books?" Buffy posited.

Giles gave her The Look. "No... it is impossible for these writers to have collaborated, Buffy. They lived in different centuries. I believe that this collection of texts was contained in the deeper levels of the Council, Buffy. It would explain why they were all grouped together and why they have managed to escape the blast largely unscathed."

"So... you're saying that the Council hid a bunch of books about a whole species of demon, because they didn't want people to know about them?" Buffy asked.

"Perhaps. But... given the age of these texts, I would suggest that these books were hidden long before the reign of _this _Council. I believe they were hidden before the building was even constructed, and that the blast was what freed them."

"How come?"

"Because when I found them, they were covered in grey dust. Cement, Buffy."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "So, what are they about then?"

"What?"

"The hidden species. What are they?"

"Ah..." Giles said. "They are referred to as the Elderkind in this, and as the Ancients in this. They are connected by the word Volturi - which I cannot translate; it doesn't appear to mean anything in any language I could reference. I can't tell you exactly what they are, Buffy, but they are referred to in this passage as 'the Cold Ones' and here as 'the shadows who crawl in the night'."

"So... vampires, then," Buffy said.

"Perhaps," Giles said. "But it would be wise not to jump to conclusions, Buffy. There are many things that crawl in the night."

"Don't I know it," Buffy said, wryly. "Well... are they still hoppin' around, or what?"

Giles looked confused.

"Are they endangered, at least?"

"Ah, you're asking me if they are extinct? I have no idea. These books were written an inordinate amount of centuries ago, Buffy, but then, so were many books about vampires, and they still exist today."

Buffy sighed, "Okay, well, you keep on digging, Giles. Tell me when you find something."

Over the following days, Buffy became increasingly preoccupied with the thought of this new species - well, old species, according to Giles. Really old. Like, before modern civilisation old. He'd decided that the books found in the library must be copies of even older Watchers' reports made on the fly when they found whatever species it was. Meaning that these demons, if that was what they were, must have been encountered by some of the first Watchers to ever exist.

"Then why didn't the Slayer on duty way back when kick their primeval asses?" Buffy asked.

It was a day later that Giles came up with the answer to that question.

"Because they were _before _the time of the Slayers."

Buffy gave a low whistle. "Damn... that's old alright."

"Not just that, Buffy," Giles had a look of frightened exasperation on his face. Buffy looked blankly back at him.

"This species, whatever it was... it was the reason the Slayer was created."

Buffy took in this news with a blink.

Giles seemed rather peeved that Buffy didn't seem to appreciate the gravity of his statement.

"Buffy, this is a rather, as you would say in America - 'big deal'. Whatever this species was, or indeed, _is_, it was so fearsome that it inspired men to mount a defence as powerful as the Slayer!"

"I don't know whether to feel complimented or offended by that," Buffy mused to herself. "Anyway... Giles, that shadow puppet show thingy we found in Nikki's Slayer bag o' tricks said that it was demons. As in; plural. This species was probably only one kind."

Buffy was creeped out by the fact that Giles looked a little disappointed; but realised it was probably less for the realisation that this Big Bad wasn't as big and bad as he thought and more for the fact he could be wrong, so she let it slide and gave a lopsided smile.

"Even so, Buffy... if these creatures are still in existence, I fear there could be trouble."

"Isn't there always?" Buffy sighed, with a weary smile. "Besides, these books were hidden away in a creepy old vault below a giant library for thousands of years... and we never heard anything from this Ye Olde Species before, so what makes you think that just because you've unearthed it _now_, something's _suddenly _going to happen, out of the blue?"

Giles looked thoughtful and paused before he spoke. "But... doesn't that happen to us quite a lot?"

Buffy matched his look, and her eyes widened a little.

"Um... well... to coin a Giles phrase..." Buffy met her Watcher's eyes. "Oh, dear."

* * *

Buffy was on a knife edge for the next few days.

Being on constant alert for some unknown ancient species of demon with unknown powers that probably wanted to kill her was starting to make her crabby. And people were starting to notice; the first of whom was Dawn.

"So, sis, how come you're being such a b-i-t-c-h lately?" Dawn asked amiably, popping a kernel of popcorn in her mouth.

Buffy fixed her sister with a stern look. "Dawn, if you think you're old enough to curse, then you're probably old enough to not have to spell it out."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Come on, Buffy. I can tell when something's wrong. You're grumpy. And don't tell me it's PMS, 'cause I know it's not your time of the month yet."

"And I don't want to even know how you know that..." Buffy said, studiously ignoring the question. It was half stubbornness (she didn't want to enable her little sister - the girl was annoying enough already) and half protectiveness. It had still only been a month and a half since the First. It was one thing for Buffy to be on alert again so soon - she was the Slayer, it was her gig - but Dawn didn't have to be.

And for as long as Buffy could keep the nosy little beast (said as lovingly as possible) in the dark, she planned on doing just that.

The only person in whom Buffy confided the news of a possible Bad of indeterminate Bigness to was Faith. Purely because that girl was all about the fighting; she was just as bored with sitting on her ass all day as Buffy was. Once Faith had followed through on her threat to sleep for a week, she was up and at 'em, and it was starting to get on some of the other Potential-turned-Slayers' nerves. While Buffy had tried as hard as she possibly could to keep her Slayage impulses under wraps, Faith was the exact opposite, and she was starting to pick fight with the other girls just for the hell of it.

Buffy had to admit she found it faintly amusing - but she would never in a million years admit that to the other First Generation Slayer (as the girls were now referring to Buffy and Faith as - whereas Willow had in turn affectionately named them the Slayerettes).

The second Faith had heard there might be a new threat on the horizon; her eyes lit up with excitement. "Seriously? You ain't kiddin' me around here, B, are ya?"

She looked dangerously like a child who'd just been told they were going on a surprise holiday to Disneyland.

Buffy's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "Faith... this is not a good thing, you do know that, right?"

"Sure it is!" Faith laughed. "Hell, I've been itchin' to kick someone's ass for _weeks_!" She pounded one fist into her other palm as she spoke.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Down, girl. We don't even know if there _is _anything, I just thought I'd let you know, just in case."

Faith sighed. "Alright, B. I'll keep look-see, anyway."

Buffy walked away from the other girl thinking that the only reason she was so happy was because if there _was _another Big Bad, she wouldn't have to go back to jail yet.

That thought didn't piss Buffy off as much as it would have only a year ago.

* * *

The other issue darkening the minds of the Scoobies and the Slayerettes were the losses. Casualties. Buffy still hated that word; but she hated it even more now.

The hardest were Spike and Anya. Xander cried in the night unabashed for the first week, while Buffy privately mourned Spike whenever she was alone. She didn't cry anymore. She had the first night, silently, into her covers. Now she just stared out of the window and replayed in her mind their last conversation as his hand ignited and he made his sacrifice. For her.

Buffy knew it had been for her. She knew it as it was happening; so she gave him the only thing she could - and she told Spike she loved him. As she said the words; she realised that she meant them, in some way. Maybe not as lovers, or as friends, or even just as two fellow warriors fighting alongside each other. Or perhaps a weird combination of the three. Buffy couldn't really put into words how she felt about Spike, so she just sort of left it at that.

What she did know was that she was sorry he was gone, and that she missed him. She wished he were still alive.

Angel got a strange look on his face when Buffy broke the news that Spike was dead. It seemed he too didn't quite know how he felt about this news. On one hand, he sort of hated Spike. But on the other, he sort of didn't mind him being around either. It had been a mutual love-hate relationship (except that the love was more a sort of faint tolerance of each other's existence). It seemed Angel had grown a little bit of respect for Spike once Buffy had broken the news of his soul-getting (of course, that was only once Angel had gotten over his petulance at precisely that fact - "You know, I started it. The whole... having a soul. Before it was all the cool new thing.")

Angel told himself that it was good Spike had learnt what it meant to have a soul before he died. And he left it there.

As for the other Slayers who had died during the battle; their losses were felt by Buffy as that of a general who had lost his team in combat. She had lived with them, talked to them (and _at _them) and she had fought with them. Their deaths seemed a little more distant to her than Spike and Anya, but only just. She supposed that was normal though - while she had known both Spike and Anya for years, she had known the fallen girls for only a few short months.

But still, sometimes, she would reach for a cereal box or complain loudly about the temperature of the shower or roll her eyes at Dawn or pour some juice... and she would remember one of them, and just for a second would experience dizzying déjà vu and a brief sense of sorrow, and then she would carry on.

Unsurprisingly, the Slayerettes took it harder. Buffy didn't blame them - in a sense they had all been in the same boat, but for the girls it hit much closer to home. They walked around, _knowing_ that it could just as easily have been them. (_I could be the one who didn't make it to the bus._)

It had scared all of them. Some a little too much.

Three new Slayers had left for home the same day as they had recovered.

Two the day after that.

Willow cried the day Kennedy left. Buffy remembered holding her as she shook.

"It's probably for the best," she soothed. "Better sooner than later, anyway."

"True," Willow whispered, sniffing into Buffy's sweater.

"If she couldn't handle our Willow, that's her loss," Buffy said, not merely reassuring, but meaning every word she spoke. Kennedy had been intimidated by the sheer elemental power Willow had gained the day of the spell that had activated the new Slayers. Willow had discussed this concern previously with Xander, but he had assumed that Kennedy would be able to hold her own - being a Slayer and all.

It appeared not.

The remaining Slayers had been bidden by Giles to return to their families if they had any, and decide which path they truly wanted to follow - to become a full-time Slayer, to completely ignore the Slayer part of themselves, or to try and live a normal life but fight should the situation arise. They had all agreed to this plan, and so finally; only Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Dawn, Andrew, Robin, Faith, Angel and the rest of his team remained in the hotel.

Robin and Faith were a tricky situation. Buffy was pretty sure that they were uh, _getting bouncy_ with each other (as Faith would put it) but other than that, she had no idea what was going on there. Though she had to admit, she wasn't exactly the expert on reading signals like that. She had noticed them exchanging glances - but that was all they looked like to her... glances. What they meant? She had no idea. Faith definitely wasn't the settling-down-type, though. She knew _that _much at least. And she had a sneaking suspicion the same could be said for Robin. He was a lot like a Slayer in that respect. Buffy kind of hoped for his sake that the 'ending up alone' gene wasn't something that got passed down from Slayer to child.

Buffy guessed it was more likely that neither wanted to be tied down. They both wanted to be prepared for action; pumped for a fight and ready to go.

So it was no surprise they both grinned from ear to ear when Giles announced there was indeed a bad. And it looked pretty big.

* * *

"So, what's the sitch?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, Buff," Xander added, "I mean, we don't normally do cross-country Scoobying, you know?"

Buffy sat in the deserted lounge area with her two best friends who had not been present for Giles' explanation on account of serious caffeine deprivation. Buffy drank deep from her tall latte and sighed in appreciation before speaking.

"Well... basically, Giles has been keeping up with the news on account of the whole suspected ancient demon-y things... I told you this part, right?" Buffy checked as Willow and Xander nodded in unison. "Right, so, while he was looking for that, he came across something else big and demon-y."

"Did he stumble into Angel's bedroom during the day or something?" Xander asked, smiling innocently.

Buffy fixed him with a look, before continuing, "There's been attacks in Seattle."

Willow raised an eyebrow, "Demon attacks?"

Buffy shook her head, "Giles thinks vampires. A gang of vampires. He's worried they've set up some sort of a blood ring or sting or hit or something evil and gang-sounding anyway."

"Not to sound callous, here, Buff, but isn't this sort of thing going on... well, everywhere?" Xander asked.

"It doesn't make the national news everywhere, though," Buffy pointed out and Xander conceded. "That's true. Boy, these guys must be doing a whole lot of blood collecting to get this noticed."

"Or they're just really sloppy," Willow said, sipping her coffee, forehead furrowed in concentration. "I just don't get what the point is though. People going missing as well as the plain old mauling and blood drinking. I don't get it. What do they want the people for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Buffy said gravely, looking down at the floor. Xander and Willow both glanced at her, and she looked up. "Recruits."

The three exchanged glances of mutual disgust.

"Anyway, Giles wants us all to up-sticks and get over there sharpish," Buffy continued.

"Up-sticks?" Willow asked. "Like... move there?"

"Pretty much."

"But... where are we going to stay? There's like, the four of us at least, but then if all the others are tagging along too... sorry to be the Practical Grinch here, but we just don't have the money to stay in a city like Seattle, do we?" Willow looked worried.

"Giles said he could figure it out," Buffy shrugged. "He's always been Financial Guy that way."

Willow looked unconvinced.

"Really, Will..." Buffy smiled. "It'll be fine."

* * *

"You're kidding me, right?" Buffy stared at Giles with supreme disbelief.

"Not at all, Buffy," said Giles, disapprovingly. "It's close to the city, and it's a smaller, less populated area, so the houses are cheaper."

Buffy raised an eyebrow, the same look of disbelief still etched on her face. "Giles, the place is named after an _eating utensil_."

Xander smothered a snigger, and both Buffy and Giles shot glares his way.

"Now, now, Buffy... '_Sunnydale_' wasn't exactly a very sensible name for a town either, was it?"

"Giles," Buffy was trying to give her very best no-nonsense tone now, but it just came out sounding a little petulant. "I'd take Sunnydale over _Forks_ any day of the week."

"Well, unless you have the money to rent a hotel for possibly a matter of months in Seattle, it'll have to do," Giles sounded cross.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Fine. But I hope you saved some money to get a decent van or something. We can't exactly roll up to a town _that _small in a bright yellow Sunnydale school bus."

* * *

They arrived in Forks, Washington during the night. (Again, some grisly things had to be done for gas money - this time it was Giles who would need the therapy, as punishment for Forksgate.)

It was quite fortunate really, as if they had arrived in the daytime, unbeknownst to them they would have been the subject of unrelenting gossip. Not to mention the news of strangers arriving in town would have spread faster than wildfire, and a group as ragtag as them could use the anonymity for as long as they could get it.

Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Xander and Giles had of course all come for the road trip. Andrew had elected to stay behind in Los Angeles with Angel and his team (elected of course here meaning been forced). Robin and Faith had also stayed with Angel (a situation in LA had arisen that Faith deemed needed the brutal force of a Slayer such as herself) though she did say before the gang left that she was literally a phone call away if something needed pulverising.

"Giles, you didn't mention we were going to be living in a forest," Buffy said drolly. "I'll be honest, I don't really wanna be pitching up a tent next to a bunch of wood nymphs or something."

"Don't be silly, Buffy," Giles shook his head. "There are no such things as wood nymphs."

Buffy rolled her eyes as Giles muttered under his breath, "It's the leprechauns you should be worrying about."

Buffy shot him a look as Willow asked, "We're not though? Right, Giles? We're not... living in the woods. That's not how you managed to get somewhere cheap to stay, right? _Right_?"

When he didn't answer, Buffy and Dawn's eyes both widened with panic. "Giles?" they both squeaked at exactly the same octave.

Giles refrained from laughing as best he could, and kept utterly silent as they drove away from the woods. Once it was obvious they had cleared the danger zone with regards to possibly having to camp outside in the rain, the Watcher shot all the panicked occupants of the van an amused smirk in the rear-view mirror.

Buffy's eyes narrowed and reached forward ready to deliver Giles a very hard punch in the shoulder, but was stopped by Dawn. "After we're parked and out of the van, Buffy. I'd kind of like to reach this place alive, thank you, which we won't if Giles is howling in pain."

* * *

"Ow!" Giles cried, clasping his shoulder tightly and glaring at his charge. Buffy shrugged as she stepped out of the van and joined the others, looking over at their accommodation, which, to her obvious surprise, wasn't half bad.

"Wow, G-man, you did alright," Xander said, slapping the older man's shoulder approvingly. (Unfortunately it also happened to be the shoulder a Slayer had just smashed her fist into.)

"Gah!"

"Whoops. Sorry."

Giles just glared.

The house was medium-sized, with an old fashioned porch out front, complete with rocking chair. The white paint on the brickwork was peeling, and the wood around the windows was chipped and hanging off. It looked something like the house out of _The Wizard of Oz_, though Buffy had a sinking feeling it wouldn't take much more than a sharp exhale to blow this place away. Still, it was a roof over their heads, and it didn't seem to be the flea-infested, fire-trap haystack Buffy had expected with their budget.

Upon inspection of the property (furniture - grotty though it was - included) Giles was annoyed to find that there were really only two bedrooms, as opposed to the three that were described. The third 'bedroom' was so small you couldn't even fit a bed in there, it was more a kind of squashy, dirty armchair. Hence it was decided that Buffy and Dawn would share one bedroom, Willow and Xander the other, and Giles would sleep on the sofa downstairs.

"So, how did you get this place so cheap, Giles?" Xander asked suspiciously, once they'd unpacked their bags and settled down on the sofa to orient themselves. "What's the catch? It's not haunted is it?" His eyes darted around the room.

"No, Xander, it's not haunted," Giles said patiently. "But it was abandoned. Since they built a few mansions down the road, nobody wanted this place anymore."

"Why couldn't we get a mansion?" Buffy looked genuinely disappointed.

Giles looked heavenward.

Willow was amused, but battered on for Giles' sake. "So, what's the plan about these vamp attacks then?"

"Yeah," Xander cut in. "Straight night-time patrol and hope to get lucky or Scooby recon in the daylight first?"

"You sound like you've done this before, Xand," Buffy cocked an eyebrow with a wry smile.

"Eh, maybe once or twice," Xander smiled sheepishly.

"I think we should all just take a few days to get settled in and then go from there. Agreed?" Giles looked to Buffy. Even though he was the most senior member of the group, it was clear that Buffy was still the one they all gravitated towards as leader, especially since the fiasco with Faith and the First.

Buffy took a moment to consider. "We could be here for a while, guys. And while I don't know a lot about small towns, I do know that if you believe the movies, news travels fast. We should probably set down some roots first." She took a deep breath, aware that what she was about to say was going to be unpopular with one very dramatic teenager.

"Dawn, I think we should get you enrolled in the local school."

Dawn looked aghast. "Buffy! Come on!"

"Dawn," Buffy's tone was serious. "This last year has been difficult for all of us. I know it has. And you know as well as I do, keeping up with school was the last thing on anyone's mind. But the big danger is over now, and I'm sorry, but if you're going to have the opportunities in life that I never had - which I plan to make sure you do - you need to be getting to school."

"Buffy..." Dawn whined.

"No," Buffy said firmly. "I'm still your guardian. You're going to school and that's final. I'm sorry, Dawnie, but you have to."

Dawn pouted and looked down, but nodded. "Okay. But I promise I'm going to whine for ages about it, and make your life hell."

"But you'll go?" Buffy asked.

Dawn reluctantly nodded.

"That's all I ask," Buffy smiled, reaching over to ruffle Dawn's hair to a very indignant squeal.

* * *

Buffy had Dawn enrolled the very next day at Forks High School. As promised, Dawn did whine shamelessly, though it was mostly about the embarrassment of being forced to attend a school with _Forks _in its name (which, to be fair, Buffy fully sympathised with). Luckily, due to Dawn's age, she would only have to endure a few more months of school before the seniors graduated, and she would receive her high school diploma, after which -

"I'll never have to suffer in these hellholes again," Dawn beamed.

Buffy rose an eyebrow, "Imagine if you actually had to go to school on one for three years."

"True," Dawn laughed. Buffy grimaced, and pulled her sister in for a hug.

"Be good," she warned. "And... stay safe."

Dawn smiled softly. "You too."

Buffy left reluctantly. She was too used to bad things happening in schools to feel totally comfortable leaving Dawn alone. Even in the new Sunnyhell High, she had always been around and quick to hand if anything went wrong - not to mention having a Slayer's son as the Principal had helped matters quite a bit.

But really, this was a small town.

How could Dawn possibly find trouble in _Forks_?

* * *

Well, this chapter was very Buffy heavy, but I do promise there will be Twilight-ness in the next chapter, perhaps even Scooby/Cullen interaction. I would really love some feedback on this story, as it is my first full-length crossover, so all reviews are much appreciated. :)

Raven. x


	2. Chapter Two: Ignorance Isn't Bliss

**After Freedom.**

**CHAPTER TW****O**; **Ignorance Isn't Bliss - It's Just A Bit Annoying**.**  
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**A/N: **I am taking creative liberties with the amount of time here - I want to give Dawn a few months at school at least, so I'm stretching out the time between when Bella punches Jacob and senior year graduation to give her a few more weeks. Also, this chapter has Slayer/Cullen interaction, so... uh, jackpot? Anyway, enjoy. :)

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**

Bella was anxious.

Of course, she always felt worried these days - she couldn't keep the nerves away. The only time she felt remotely at peace was either at night, wrapped in the arms of Edward (his scent calmed her aching brain more than any magic or medicine ever could) or around the Cullen house, when Jasper was at home. Of course, she didn't like to be a constant bother to Jasper - he'd have to be on full peace blasting mode whenever she was around, so Edward was really her only solace.

Well, Edward or Jacob, but _ that _was a topic best left at peace. Although the vampire and the werewolf had reached some kind of stoic, silent, man-truce that Bella didn't quite understand, she could still feel the tension in the air whenever they were within two feet of each other.

It hadn't helped when Jacob had tried to kiss her, and she'd socked him one, breaking her hand in the process.

Not to mention that she felt like Victoria was looming ever closer, a long, red-headed shadow over her life. She longed for the day when it was done; when she and Edward could be together with no danger, no subterfuge, no overprotectiveness. When no one was looking to kill either one of them. When she could be proud to stand by his side and he could call her his equal.

In other words, when Bella was a vampire, too.

It seemed to be all she thought about nowadays. Not just for her own selfish reasons (it was getting harder and harder to be in the same room as Edward without wanting to try and rip all his clothes off), but so that things could settle down and they could move away to start their life together. Bella knew she would miss Charlie, of course, but she reasoned: doesn't every child grow up and move on? She'd just skip the growing up part.

Of course, Bella would do everything she could before she changed to see that the people she loved were okay. The visit to her mother in Phoenix had reassured her a lot; her relationship with Phil was still going strong and she seemed content to accept Bella's happiness with Edward in a way Charlie couldn't. Charlie seemed to be the wrench in her plan. Bella so wanted him to love Edward too... or at least like him. Or failing _that_, at the very least stop being so obvious in his attempts to make her date Jacob.

Bella loved Jacob, she did... he was her best friend. But she loved Edward more.

Bella tried to stop thinking along those lines; she knew that train of thought well, and it only ever led to pain and heartache. She knew she wanted Edward, and she knew she would _always _want Edward. After all, Bella had seen what life was like without him... and it didn't bear thinking about.

Bella tried not to guilt trip Edward. Really, she tried. But whenever she had brought up the subject of her change, he would get this look on his face; pained and slightly sad. It made Bella feel a little inadequate. And more than a little angry. He'd professed his love; he said he wanted her by his side forever. And yet... he didn't want her to actually be by his side forever. He said he didn't want to damn her soul.

She could maybe understand that - if she didn't believe it was completely ridiculous. Which she did. And she told him so whenever the discussion arose, and it did so much more often than before now that graduation was only a few months away.

His caveat was marriage.

He would change her - if she married him. For a short while, Bella had personally considered this to be emotional blackmail; he knew she wanted him to change her, that it would mean so much more to her if Edward did it himself. But after the brief spurt of anger at this passed, Bella realised that Edward really was just trying to, well, do the right thing. He _was _from the 1900's after all - from a time of chaste seduction and courtship under the watchful eyes of chaperones, until an engagement was declared.

And Bella did love him; more than anything else.

If ever she were to marry anyone, it would be Edward Cullen. It was true that maybe what was giving her trouble accepting was merely her own pride... she knew people would talk. They would _assume_ things they had no business to be assuming. Number one on that list would of course be that Edward had got her pregnant. Which Bella of course knew was impossible. But anyway, that assumption would quickly blow over as soon as people realised she wasn't showing a baby bump.

So Bella decided not to let these outside reactions factor into her decision. If she was going to marry Edward, she would do it because she wanted to. Because she was ready to.

But, that was the thing. Was she ready to be somebody's bride?

Bella leant back in her chair, tuning out her English teacher's monotone droning.

Now that was the question.

* * *

Buffy leant against the doorjamb and looked out onto the silent street. The combination of the light breeze and (apparently rare - eek!) burst of sunlight on her face brought a faint smile to the Slayer's lips. The first smile that had appeared there since yesterday; when Giles had informed her that the good weather that had continued unfailingly during the two days since they'd moved here was definitely not going to last - Forks was one of the rainiest and most overcast places in the entire US.

As an California girl, born and bred, one can imagine that this did not sit too well with Buffy. However, she had elected to just enjoy it while it lasted, because to be honest, she hadn't really had the time to catch any rays in well, years. She wasn't known as she who hangs out in graveyards during the sunny daytime, after all.

Dawn's first day at school had been bright (a fact she seemed pleased with), and apparently, pretty uneventful as far as school went. She walked through the door with a look of total indifference on her face, and when asked about her day, her precise word was, "Meh."

She'd made some acquaintances at least; some guys called Mike and Eric and their girlfriends, a few others that she'd forgotten the names of as well. There were quite a few absences in her classes, she'd remembered it purely because most of them all seemed to have the same last name, Cullen, which she'd thought was kind of weird. She hated her Trig teacher, but Buffy suspected that probably had more to do with the fact that Trigonometry was her worst subject - ("Gee, thanks. Nice going _there_, monks.") - and less to do with the actual teacher. Also, apparently her Biology teacher was 'kinda cute, you know, in that sort of geeky, Star Trek convention type way'.

All in all, a fairly typical day for a teenage girl, and as far as _first _days went; pretty good. So Buffy wasn't worried on that front.

These rampaging vampires were a different matter, however.

Since the small, box television included in the furnishing of the house had an abysmal signal (only made worse once subjected to Xander's amateur electrician skills), and Buffy didn't really want anyone going to the store to buy a newspaper as part of her whole 'lay low for as long as we can' plan, Willow had rigged up a little magical Wi-Fi and was scouring the Net for any more news of possible vampire-related killings and disappearances in Seattle.

She hadn't found anything brand new, but Buffy was still worried. It was pretty safe to assume the missing people were either vampire kibble or vampires themselves by now - but what if they weren't? What if this vampire gang had some other elaborate evil plan in mind, and they were actually still alive, waiting to be sacrificed to the great slug god or whoever the cool vampires were worshipping nowadays? And Buffy was just sitting here, doing nothing.

"I think maybe I should patrol tonight," she blurted out.

Willow looked up from her computer. "Tonight?"

Buffy nodded. "What if they aren't dead, Will? I mean, come on, vampires don't just band together and kidnap people for _no _reason. They've gotta have some sort of plan, _some _kind of end game in mind."

"An 'end of the world' kind of end game?" Willow asked tentatively. Apocalypses were still sort of a touchy subject for her; since that time she'd nearly caused one and all.

"Could be," Buffy ruminated, absently pacing around the coffee table whilst twirling a thin stake in her delicate fingers. "Maybe they need these people for a sacrifice or something... I mean, I could save them."

Willow's mouth twitched as she thought. "True... but Buffy, they've been missing for a few weeks now," she said gently. "If they were part of some apocalyptic mayhem, don't you think the vampires would have gotten all mayhem-y by now?"

"Maybe they're waiting for something... like a full moon, or midnight, or a red sky in the morning, oh, I don't know." Buffy flopped down on the chair next to Willow's, and propped her elbow up on the table.

"I just feel so useless doing nothing," Buffy admitted quietly.

"You're not useless," Willow said at once. "You're very use_ful_, in fact. The most useful one out of all of us." She smiled reassuringly, but Buffy just looked at her.

"Actually, Will, I think you've usurped my spot," she said jokingly, and a wry smile slid onto her face. Willow's face turned bright red, and Buffy giggled quietly.

"No, Buffy, I- I mean, I just did the spell... I didn't really do much, well, I mean, I guess I _did_, but I didn't do anything anybody else couldn't have done if they had the time and - I mean I only did it once but you - Buffy, you're useful all the time, you know with all the slaying and-"

"Willow," Buffy said, grinning. "You're babbling."

Willow took a deep breath and fixed her eyes back on the screen of her laptop, still a little flushed. Buffy felt a rush of affection for her red-headed friend. She'd missed babbly Willow.

Buffy sat beside her best friend for a few more minutes as she tapped away on the keyboard. The Slayer couldn't stop fidgeting, and she could tell it was distracting.

"Do you mind if I go for a walk?" Buffy asked. Willow replied with, "Sure, Buff," just a little bit too quickly, and Buffy snorted quietly as her suspicions were confirmed.

"I'll be back soon; you know, keeping to the whole lay low thing."

Buffy grabbed her stake purely out of habit, and shoved it in the back pocket of her jeans, where it was covered by the bottom of her jacket.

As part of her plan of not getting unnecessarily noticed by the general population, Buffy headed back up the road they'd drove along, heading in the direction of the woods. _Guess I'll see if Giles was right about those leprechauns after all, _she thought wryly to herself.

* * *

It was sunny in Forks.

While this, for humans, would normally be a good thing, for vampires like Edward Cullen, it merely meant boredom. Bella was at school, so Edward took the chance to get out and hunt, ready for spending the night with her. Emmett and Rosalie had just had a little lover's spat (nothing that wouldn't blow over by evening) but he'd decided not to take any chances and just get out of the fearsome vampiress' way for the afternoon, so he'd joined Edward on his little trip.

They had decided to hunt somewhat close to home for once; it was nearly the end of the school day, and Edward didn't want to delay seeing Bella for longer than was necessary, especially with Victoria and her lackies lurking. Not to mention Jacob Black. Edward's teeth automatically began to grind together even thinking the _name _of the disgusting dog.

He was thankfully distracted, however, by a playful punch in the chest from Emmett.

"Come on, dude," he laughed. "Are we hunting or are we taking a leisurely stroll?"

Edward rolled his eyes as Emmett grinned, then lifted his face to scan the air. Without warning, Emmett's eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Grizzly, due north," he managed to spit out before barrelling off.

Edward followed him at a slightly slower pace; he knew he was faster than Emmett... catching up to him would be an easy matter. But grizzly bear wasn't really to his tastes. Edward tried to separate the strands of scent in the air, searching for another type of animal.

He caught one alright, just not the one he was looking for. He cut off his breathing at once, and shot after Emmett. He'd stopped inhaling in time, but Emmett's mind had been focused solely on the hunt... and he was out for blood.

_What the hell is a human doing way out here? _Edward thought angrily.

As he approached the scene, it seemed to play out in slow motion. A slim, blonde girl in a denim jacket was walking right across the path of Emmett's prey. Except he wasn't really _Emmett_ anymore; he was a feral vampire focused on the hunt. Emmett stopped running, and his eyes flickered to the girl, as his feet automatically turned to change his course.

Edward realised what Emmett was doing, and darted towards him just as he was about to devour the human. Boulders collided.

Emmett landed with a giant thump on the ground, whilst Edward rebounded and was thrown backwards, his lighter weight no match for Emmett's sturdiness other than to slow him enough so that his own weight would take him down.

Frantically, Edward looked around for the human girl. He cursed inwardly. She had seen everything - so of course she'd run away. He sighed and rose to brush himself off, when suddenly he heard a dull thump, like a baseball bat connecting with wood under a layer of carpet.

It was the human.

Edward's eyes widened with disbelief as Emmett flew to the ground once more, the girl's leg still suspended in the air from her... kick? That was _impossible_. She definitely wasn't a vampire, Edward could hear her heightened heartbeat like war drums across a valley.

He looked into her eyes; she'd caught sight of him. He looked for crimson there. No, her eyes were green as grass... it couldn't be possible. She was definitely human.

Those green eyes narrowed dangerously, and for a moment, Edward Cullen felt a tiny thrill of apprehension run down his spine; a feeling that he was wholly unused to. It was as if for a moment, he had taken leave of all rational thought, and the primal instincts within him had emerged, much like when hunting.

However, _this _time the primal forces within him had come up with fear instead of hunger. But as quickly as it had surfaced, it disappeared, as the woman smirked and drew herself up a little, one eyebrow quirked in a challenging manner. Edward was stumped. It seemed as if she found the whole debacle... _amusing, _somehow.

Emmett got to his feet, a venomous glare directed straight at this arrogant human. She curled her hands into fists and shifted her feet, a stance Edward instinctually recognised as offensive. When Emmett did not move, she leant forward a little and stage-whispered: "This is the part where we fight."

"Oh, really?" Emmett's booming laugh echoed.

The woman shrugged. "Hey, I don't care. I can kick your ass now or I can kick it later."

Emmett growled lowly. No matter who issued it, Emmett was not one to back down from a challenge, and her tone was _definitely _challenging.

"Okay, then. Last chance to reconsider, doll," Emmett hissed, mocking the slip of a girl a little.

She scoffed quietly. "No, thanks, honeybunch," she said, her tone equally condescending and imbued with confidence. "But if you'd like to back out now, I won't think any less of you." She smiled sweetly. "I don't think that's actually _possible_."

Emmett growled lowly, and began to charge. Edward thought rapidly about intervening; clearly the idiotic woman was about to get herself killed. No one deserved that, no matter how obnoxiously arrogant they were to think they could take on a vampire, especially one of Emmett's size, and live. But just as he was about to dart forward and scoop the girl out of the way, she had swung to the side, with all the practised ease of a lynx, and definitely faster than Edward would have said possible by human standards.

Emmett hurtled forward into a thick oak tree, crashing into it with a resounding snapping sound, and the tree groaned lowly as it was forced to the ground. It smashed against the earth, and Edward's mind jarred as his incredibly sensitive hearing was assaulted. And yet the woman seemed unfazed. In fact, Edward would even go so far as to say she looked... bored.

"Well, now that we've successfully rattled the neighbouring wildlife..." she quipped, smirking. "You think we could maybe get this show on the road anytime soon?"

Edward hadn't seen Emmett so incensed in a very long while; and it was definitely not something he would like to have directed at him, were he standing in the young woman's position. Deceptively agile, Emmett sprung into the air, making for her. As he reached out, she slipped underneath his descending body, bringing one huge arm with her. Emmett was flipped over, and landed unceremoniously on his back; the ground cracked under the force and weight of him.

"You're really not getting this picture, are you?" The woman dug her foot under Emmett and flipped him onto his front.

Edward had been stunned into paralysis by the scene before him, but he had to intervene. He sped forward, knocking the girl off her feet and allowing Emmett time to get onto his. She let out a gasp of air as he landed on her chest. He heard her cough, "Oh, you shouldn't have done that."

Edward's brow furrowed as the girl wrapped her leg around his and elbowed him hard in the ribs, causing him to fall backwards so that she was now on top of him. Her hand flew to her back pocket and she drew out a short stick of wood with a pointed tip.

"Is that... a _stake_?" Edward almost laughed as the girl drove it down towards the space where his heart should be.

"Damn skippy," she hissed as it collided.

And splintered into thousands of pieces.

The girl's mouth widened in shock. "What the - ?"

She didn't get time to finish her sentence as she was yanked off Edward by Emmett and thrown straight across the clearing, landing on a patch of grass with a soft thump.

She got to her feet with speed, and glared. "How did you do that?"

Edward's brow rose high in amusement. "You really thought you could take us down with a _stake_? How Hollywood."

Emmett snorted, as Edward's face slowly turned stony. "Who _are_ you?"

The girl cocked an eyebrow disbelievingly. "You're kidding, right?"

Edward and Emmett exchanged a look. "Uh, no?" Emmett said.

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. "Look, I can't keep doing this, okay? Aren't vampires supposed to spread the freakin' story among _themselves_? You know, in the interests of staying undead for as long as possible? Jeez, your sire really didn't care about you two, did he?"

"How do you know what we are?" Edward asked, his voice ominous, having picked up on the key word_ vampires._

The girl put her hands on her hips. "The question you _should _be asking is why _don't _you know who _I _am."

"Anyway," she continued. "I'd love to stay and chat but... actually, no. That's a lie."

And with that, the mysterious blonde girl sped away with inhuman speed into the trees, leaving Edward and Emmett Cullen standing there, stunned.

* * *

Buffy ran so fast she thought her heart was going to burst out of her chest. She ran for at least twenty minutes before she reached the road again, and another ten before she reached the house - _I walked further out than I thought I did..._

But she didn't have time to think about that, or anything else, really. Buffy crashed through the front door, slamming it shut behind her, and stumbled into the living room, where Giles, Willow, Xander and Dawn all jumped up as she stood there, breathing heavily.

Giles immediately sprung to action, coming to grasp her arm. "Buffy, are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?"

"Never mind that, no time," Buffy panted. She pointed out towards the woods. "Went for a walk. Found vampires."

"Vampires?" Xander questioned. "Buff, it's four o'clock. The sun's still out. Vampires are all safely tucked up in bed."

Buffy shook her head even as he spoke. "No, they were definitely vampires. Blood drinking, feral, strong, fast... plus I got the spidey sense off 'em. Definitely vamps."

"They must have had some sort of aid to allow them to traverse in the daylight," Giles said, going into full Watcher research mode. "Something akin to the Gem of Amarra, perhaps? Were they wearing jewellery... or an amulet of some sort?"

"Giles..." Buffy breathed. "They were trying to kill me, I didn't really get much time to focus on their _fashion sense_."

"Of course, but..."

"No, wait, wait..." Buffy interrupted. "I didn't even get to the bad part."

"There's a worse part than they were out in the sunlight?" Willow asked, eyes wide.

"Hell, yeah... I staked them-"

"Alright, Buff!" Xander cheered, but Buffy silenced him with a look. "_They didn't die._"

Giles looked up from his books, and the rest of the Scoobies just stared at Buffy in shock.

"I brought the stake down, it hit his chest and it just _broke _into like, a million tiny pieces."

"What happened after that?" Giles asked, a little breathy from the shock of the information his Slayer had just imparted.

"We had a little chat and then I ran away," Buffy said dryly. Her breath had returned, and she stood up straight, crossing her arms.

"Get this," Buffy looked annoyed. "They didn't even know who I was."

Xander mock-gasped. "How dare they?" he said, sarcastically.

"Actually," Giles said. "That could be relevant, Xander."

"Oh," Xander said, looking put out, and slumped back down onto the couch.

"Buffy, I need you to tell me everything you remember about these creatures. Clearly, they aren't normal vampires, at any rate," Giles said, settling down at the coffee table with a giant pile of books.

"Well, they definitely weren't Uber-vamps anyway," she said. Giles scribbled down on a piece of paper the word _Turok-Han _and then crossed it out.

"They were..." she sighed. "Really fast and _really _strong. I nearly shattered the bones in my leg kicking one of them in the chest."

Giles nodded, and kept writing.

"They laughed after the stake broke... what was it he said? Oh, yeah; 'how Hollywood'."

"Anything else?" Giles said, then looked up when Buffy didn't answer. To his surprise, she had gone a little pink. "Well, they were both good looking. Like, _really _good looking."

Giles raised an eyebrow, "I doubt _that's _relevant, Buffy."

"Hey, you said tell you _everything_!" the Slayer said indignantly.

Giles returned with a look that said _I suppose._

"Oh, hold on... yeah. Um, they were both _really _pale; a lot paler than normal vamps. Oh, and they both had the same colour eyes, but they didn't have normal vamp game faces on. It was just the eyes. They both had totally black eyes."

Giles frowned, then suddenly leapt up from the table and darted into the other room with an agility any man of the same age would kill to have.

After a moment, Buffy looked at the others, who had resumed their seats, and frowned. "Don't you hate it when he gets that _'eureka!' _moment, but forgets to share?"

Willow, Xander and Dawn nodded.

* * *

The huge, white mansion was serene from the outside. Not even the lightest of breezes stirred a single blade of grass in the perfectly-mowed front lawn; not a single speck of dust could be seen on any one of the many shiny, double-glazed windows. It was the picture of serenity and bliss.

But inside, the atmosphere was fizzling.

"I have _no _idea what she was," Edward hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He had told Bella he needed to hunt again that night, so he couldn't stay over. As much as it pained him to lie to her, she was anxious enough as it was, and there was no need to worry her further with tales of some unknown danger.

Emmett shook his head, looking blank as well. "Haven't a clue."

"But you say, she was _definitely _human?" Carlisle asked for the third time, his eyes narrowed.

"_Yes_," both Emmett and Edward stressed the word. "Heartbeat, pulse, blood... everything. She was human."

"This is impossible," Esme whispered. "And she... took you down to the ground, Emmett?"

Emmett scratched his neck distractedly, unwilling to recount again how a human girl who couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds had managed to kick him to the floor and then flip him face-down. "Yep," he mumbled.

Jasper's lips twitched at Emmett's demeanour. "A _girl _kicked your ass?" he clarified.

Emmett glared at him, and Jasper held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I'm just checking."

Alice looked deep in thought, and only looked up when Jasper gently brushed her arm with a single finger. "I'm just thinking, why didn't I see this before it happened? And then I thought, maybe it's because it wasn't a decision, it was an accident. So, one of you, decide to go take your revenge on her or something."

"Easy," Emmett said darkly.

The Cullens waited with baited breath (figuratively, anyway) while Alice and Emmett both concentrated.

After a few minutes, Alice made a frustrated noise and her eyes flew open. "I can't see her."

"Maybe you didn't concentrate hard enough on making a decision, Emmett," Edward suggested.

"No, he was concentrating," said Alice. "Believe me. I could see him ripping down trees... but it was just her. She was blurred."

"Meaning?" Carlisle asked.

"Meaning either there's a werewolf around, or she's not human."

"Well, since she _is _human, she must be with a wolf," Emmett growled. "I _knew _they were going to try and take us down..."

"There could be another explanation," Carlisle said, arms folded, interrupting Emmett's dangerous train of thought. It would not do to break the uneasy truce they held with the wolves. "Alice, you said she was blurred? So, you could vaguely see her?"

"Not enough to be able to tell what she was doing or saying or anything," Alice clarified.

"Then maybe... she's part human?"

The room was silent after Carlisle's theory, until Alice spoke. "But then by that token, I should be able to see the werewolves when they aren't wolves."

"Ah, but the wolf is strong inside them all the time, Alice. Hence why they can phase at their leisure. And you have never been a werewolf. But you have been human, so if she was _part _human..."

"Then I could _partially _see her, but whatever the other part, the non-human part is... that's what's making the image blurry. It's a good theory, Carlisle."

"Well, it's not like we have many others," Emmett said.

"The question is," said Rosalie, who had previously remained silent from the corner of the room. "What's the other part? And more importantly, what the hell does she want with us?"

The Cullens looked towards the blonde vampire, whose look was grim. "She could expose us, you know."

"I don't know..." Edward's forehead creased. "I mean, she had a stake. Clearly she doesn't know a whole lot about us, other than we're vampires."

"Couldn't you read her mind?" Rosalie asked scathingly.

Edward scowled at his coven sister. "A little. Not much... it was like a bad radio signal. But whoever this girl is, she thinks in the moment. All I caught were glimpses of what she could see. Which at that moment, was us. Nothing helpful, I'm afraid."

"You _were _a little preoccupied at the time, dear," Esme offered, patting her son's arm. Emmett rolled his eyes.

"The question becomes," Carlisle started, drawing all eyes to him. "What are we going to do now?"

* * *

Giles looked harried as he rushed back into the room, and gently lay a pile of weathered parchment and small, bound volumes down on the coffee table. Buffy had to smirk, even in an apparent crisis, Giles still couldn't handle his books with anything less than tender care.

"Hold on..." Buffy's forehead creased. She remembered this specific pile of books and papers. "Isn't that the stuff you got from the Council headquarters?"

"Yes," Giles nodded, a little breathless from the weight of it.

"Wait... all that stuff about the new, old... whatever, species?" Xander asked. "The demons that scared ye olde desert Watcher men so much they bagsied themselves a demon and got with the Slayer-makin'?"

"Articulate, as always, Xander," Giles commented dryly. "But yes, that is the general idea."

"Okay, but what's it got to do with these vamps?" Buffy interrupted.

"I believe that these creatures you faced _are _this ancient species." Giles dropped his bombshell. "I looked more into translating some of these older phrases during our, er, settling in period here. I didn't tell you before because it didn't seem pertinent, it was just the odd few words or phrases here and there, but together with the description you gave it makes perfect sense."

As he spoke, Giles sifted through the parchment until he found his own notes on the subject. Pushing his glasses a little further up his nose, he read out; "They hunger; eyes dark as the night."

"Check," Buffy said.

"Milk and moon and starlight, they stand transparent."

"Paleness? Check."

"'Struck dumb with perfection'... er, 'cold beauty' and 'a face devil-bless'd in trickery'... I believe these phrases to refer to their looks."

"Told you it was relevant," Buffy grumbled, then waved her hand impatiently. "Go on."

"No woven steel, nor iron, nor bone can', I believe this word is 'pierce', 'their hardened shell'. And, er... 'diamonds fall before them'."

"I'm kinda getting why my poor stake didn't stand half a chance," Buffy said, eyebrow raised.

"And then the passage I managed to translate before we came here. 'The Cold Ones we name them. For they are ice and darkness, yet they walk upon this land like ...' er, this part was a little too scorched... 'Our fear is too great. Our people fall; we must stop these beasts, they who crawl in the dark...' again, a space here... 'For this purpose, we create Her. The She-Demon who will match them. She will tear away their dark. For this great purpose, we create Her; named the Slayer of these foul beasts.'"

There was silence after Giles spoke.

"Well... ominous, much?" Buffy said, breaking the tension that had inadvertently built during Giles' reading. "And 'She-Demon'? That's just rude."

"Not to mention kinda plain," Xander cut in. "They could've come up with something a little more grand... like… Female Overlord, or Lady Kickass or, uh…Woman of the Night?"

"That last one's another name for a prostitute, Xander," Willow pointed out quietly, as Buffy snorted.

"I think I'll just stick with She-Demon actually, thanks."

Xander smiled sheepishly.

* * *

"I say we find her and kill her," Rosalie said bluntly.

Carlisle sighed, as the others looked shiftily at each other. Most were reminded of the very similar conversation they'd had when Edward had first met Bella, and Rosalie's very similar stance on the issue.

"I would prefer violence to be the very last resort," the patient patriarch said quietly.

"We know that Carlisle, but the fact is this woman, whoever she is, tried to kill Emmett."

"Actually, _I _was the one she tried to stab in the heart with a wooden stake," Edward pointed out. Rosalie ignored him.

Esme stepped in, and attempted to defuse the situation. "Edward, you said you were hunting when you came across her?"

"Yes," Edward nodded. "Emmett caught her scent. I stopped him before he pounced on her."

"Then... is it not possible that this girl merely attacked because of a perceived threat?" Esme asked.

Edward and Emmett exchanged glances. "Still, Esme," Edward said. "She knows what we are."

"Well, we can't just execute her for _that_," Esme rebutted, annoyance in her tone. "I would have thought you would know better, Edward. Were we to kill based on that criteria alone, would _Bella _not have befallen the same fate you now deem necessary for _this_ girl?"

Edward flinched at the mention of Bella dying, but looked suitably chastened.

Carlisle laid a hand on his wife's arm in support. "I agree. I think we should find out more about who and what this girl is, what she is doing here and precisely what her intentions are towards us before we make any rash actions."

Jasper and Rosalie looked unconvinced, as did Emmett. "Better safe than sorry," Jasper said in his usual reserved tone.

"All life is sacred," Carlisle countered, sparing a patient glance for his most blood-troubled son.

Jasper looked briefly down at the ground, and then towards his mate, silently asking her opinion. Alice looked torn, but with a glance at Carlisle, and remembering Esme's words about Bella, she nodded.

"I agree with Carlisle. We should find out more before taking any action. Besides," She shot a placating look at Emmett and Rosalie. "If we were to act now, without knowing what she is capable of, we could end up with a lot more trouble on our hands than just a bad case of wounded male pride." Alice directed the last part towards Emmett with a stern glare, which he studiously avoided meeting.

"Then it is decided," Carlisle said. "We will bide our time with regards to this matter, and refocus on the trouble we know for certain is brewing. That of Victoria."

Dubiously, the Cullen clan nodded.

* * *

Just a couple of things; firstly, if you would like to have a say in the pairings of this story, please go and vote in the poll on my profile.

Also, I've had an idea to create more crossover between the Buffy and Twilight fandoms - and his name is Riley. As in, they are the _same _Riley; human Initiative soldier from Buffy turned vampire and slave to Victoria in Twilight. (If I do decide to use this idea, it definitely _won't_ result in a Buffy/Riley pairing, don't worry), but it's an idea... one which I would love some feedback on. Let me know :)

Reviews are the fuel that feeds the writing fire.

~ Raven.


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